Blog Archive: March 2016

The team have been hard at work contacting our network of scouts from clubs from the Premier League through to semi-pro level and we are pleased to say many have been confirmed for the upcoming April football trials. In addition to the club scouts, founder of the PFSA David Hobson, will also be attending every trial which is a huge boost to players attending as he brings with him an incredible network list which can open doors at clubs across the UK. We caught up with David today who said: "I'm very much looking to forward to the UK Football Trials next week. On previous events I have found a lot of players for clubs all over the UK and I am hopeful of finding some more talent this time round...

Congratulations to Charlie aged 14, a talented centre-midfielder, caught the eye of the Reading scout at his second UK Football Trial, which he attended in October 2015. He had impressed with us before, and was monitored by another Championship club prior to Reading expressing an interest. During both of his trials, Charlie displayed great passing, vision and strength - all vital traits for a modern-day centre-midfielder. Having been signed at Larkspur Rovers FC for the last 9 years, Charlie has won multiple individual awards and has also had the chance to Captain his County. Charlie's Dad, James, said: "He played a game for the development side in the indoor dome where the academy train, and got 45 minutes on the pitch. I'm guessing he impressed because he's going back next Wednesday for more training!"

Congratulations to Amza! He was scouted at our football trials in Manchester last October, after impressing in his coaching session and final match. Founder of the Professional Football Scouts Association, David Hobson, said he was impressed with Amza's technical ability and the impact he had on the match so recommended him to the club. Amza attended two sessions with Bury's Development squad on Monday, 25th January and Thursday 28th. During his two sessions there, Amza played in a training match for Bury, and did enough to earn a call back. A relative said: "He enjoyed it and it was good for him to play against a different level of players." Speaking about his UK Football Trials, they said: "Amza had a great time with UK Football Trials - it is fantastic! It gives players an opportunity to progress in their football and because of UKFT, Amza is now currently on trial with an excellent pro club." "The UK Football Trial gives players an opportunity to progress in their football. It was great for Amza to have a chance to train with a pro academy."

Kane, a centre-midfielder, is currently playing in Catalonia, Spain for football club UE Cornella where he has been for 4 years. He caught the attention of a number of scouts at our trial in West London in February and played a trial match for Cheltenham Town u16's a few days later. One of the reasons Kane was scouted was because of his maturity in the middle of the park. Playing against players up to 7 years older than himself, on request of the scouts, he dictated the tempo of the match and created several goals.

Saihou, who plays as a number 10 behind the striker, was scouted at our trial after impressing the UK Football Trials Head Coach Kevin Kent, who took his session. Saihou has previously been in on trial with Aston Villa when he was seven and currently plays for local side Tipton Green. Saihou attended the football trial with Wolves' Academy last Friday, 11th March. He trained with the u11's and has already been invited back in to train with the academy once a week. His Mum said: "Saihou did well and the coach said he looked like somebody with a lot of academy experience - he enjoyed playing at a high level."

Lumi, who usually plays as a left winger, was scouted at our Manchester football trial earlier this year, after impressing scouts and receiving interest from five professional clubs. He currently plays in Northern Ireland, and his county, where he was selected in the final 18 from 300 players. Despite usually playing as a winger, Lumi was asked by his coach to play centre-midfield in the trial match and that is where he caught the eye. Displaying strength, composure and technique, he controlled the tempo of the game despite being the youngest player on the pitch. Lumi was hoping to attend our football trial in 2015 but made a deal with his mum that if he obtained A's at school, then he could come in February - luckily he did!

UK Football Trials player is enjoying success playing for his National School's Team, as he approaches an important decision in his football career. Jack Cook, 18, who plays at centre-back, attended our trials at Falkirk Stadium in October last year looking for a professional club, and is currently being closely monitored by the heads of recruitment from two professional Scottish clubs who scouted him at our trial. This recent development could well open the door for even more opportunities for him, having previously trialled with Liverpool, Manchester United, Huddersfield, Rangers, Hibernian and Celtic FC . During his trial with Celtic, Jack was asked to sign for them but decided to stay with his club Hutchinsonvale FC where he had opportunities to trial with English clubs such as Liverpool and Manchester United .

Following a record number of players being scouted from our football trial week around the UK in February, our April football trials are now on sale and selling fast! Harry Price - Director of UK Football Trials said "It was an incredible start to the year with an amazing 51 players scouted from our 5 days of events. The clubs and the scouts are now contacting the players and already 4 players have been in on trials at clubs and remain there now! Our team are preparing for our next football trials in West London, South London, Plymouth, Cardiff, Scotland and Manchester - where we are searching again for the players aged 10-28 who just need that chance to get scouted and be seen by scouts from the Premier League to Semi Pro UK Wide.

Luciano was scouted by our team in February after attending two trials in Manchester and Leeds, where he got to play in front of a number of different scouts from all levels. Amazingly Luciano only started playing football at 14, he has trialled for AFC Wimbledon in the past and currently plays semi-pro in London. Luciano's representative Martin Hunter said: "With UK Football Trials, Luciano had the opportunity to take matters in his own hands and attend these trials to show top club scouts he has the ability to make it as a Pro; resulting in him being invited to trial with a Pro U21s squad." He added: "Seeing him so relaxed and comfortable at these trials showed how UK Football Trials aims to make their trialists feel when attending.

It's been a superb start to our first football trials of 2016! So far we have had more than 20 scouts attend the first two days of trials at the sell out football trials in Manchester and Leeds. With players aged from 10-28 competing to catch the eyes of the scouts and UEFA qualified coaching team, we have seen more than 1 in 10 players scouted from the first two days of football trials!

Spaces for the UK Football Trials this February are almost sold out, as scouts across the country ready their clipboards. Over the course of next week, commencing Monday 15th February, our team will be at Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Essex and West London, giving players all over the UK the chance to turn their dreams into reality. Scouts from the Premier League through to Non-League will be on the lookout for players to take into their clubs, along with Founder of the Professional Football Scouts Association and Former Manchester United Scout David Hobson.

You may have noticed the new UK Football Trials website! It has been designed to be heavily video based and the aims are to help provide players with a smooth customer experience for trial bookings as well as being a place where they can learn about how scouting works as well providing information to help players improve. Director James Price explains, "Our old site was beginning to look a bit dated and we thought our trial booking system could be improved. While updating the look and usability of the new site, we also decided that we would take the opportunity to share with players some of the amazing things we've learned from world football experts since starting the company."

Following on from our February football trials, he we profile 7 of our players all of whom have amazing opportunities after being scouted. While there are many more trials pending from February (and many more stories to come in the coming months), it's a great start after the first trials of 2016. You can read their individual stories on our "Success Stories" page.

Dion Oczabruk, a talented defensive midfielder has been given a trial chance with Blackburn Rovers.
In a familiar story for many frustrated players, Dion's dad John thinks that Dion's talent has gone largely unnoticed - "I think there's a real lack of scouts in this area to be honest. I don't think I can remember one ever watching a game of his and he's just slipped through the net. He has got something about him and UK Football Trials found that, but I think he's had a lack of opportunity to get scouted before."

The UK Football Trials team have been in Manchester supporting two players scouted from our football trials in February. The players Takuki and Aldo, both 15, joined the shadow squad U16 group and had their opportunity to impress at Manchester City's incredible £200m training ground last night. The pair were two of 51 players picked up from our football trials in the February half-term and have been given the chance to impress with one of the biggest clubs in England just weeks after attending. Harry Price, Director of UK Football Trials pictured here with Takuki and Aldo, said: "It's been a fantastic couple of days for us...

UK Football Trials player is enjoying success playing for his National School's Team, as he approaches an important decision in his football career. Jack Cook, 18, who plays at centre-back, attended our trials at Falkirk Stadium in October last year looking for a professional club, and is currently being closely monitored by the heads of recruitment from two professional Scottish clubs who scouted him at our trial. This recent development could well open the door for even more opportunities for him, having previously trialled with Liverpool, Manchester United, Huddersfield, Rangers, Hibernian and Celtic FC...

WHAT A WEEK! UK Football Trials have completed 5 consecutive days of football trials in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Essex and West London, with players from 26 countries attending and record number of scouts watching.
UK Football trials Co-Director and FA Registered Intermediary Jim Price said "We have already had requests for more than 50 players details from last week which is incredible. There were high numbers of scouts at our events last week and some of them chose to come to attend our football trials rather than the official pro club exit trials which were also running. I think this illustrates the quality of player we have attending and we will now be looking to sign some of these players to our newly created football agency."

It's been a superb start to our first football trials of 2016! So far we have had more than 20 scouts attend the first two days of trials at the sell out football trials in Manchester and Leeds. With players aged from 10-28 competing to catch the eyes of the scouts and UEFA qualified coaching team, we have seen more than 1 in 10 players scouted from the first two days of football trials...

UK Football Trials for the second year in a row receives the highest award for customer service and event delivery from FEEFO - the independent and trusted ratings and reviews platform. The FEEFO MD Andrew Mabbot said: " This accreditation remains unique in that it is based on the experiences of GENUINE purchase verified customers. UK Football Trials have been accredited because of feedback left by their customers over the course of 2014 & 2015 and the 98% scores in customer service and delivery of events throughout the year."

If you follow us on social media, you'll know we provide our followers with tons of interesting facts and inspiring stories every day - and today, millions more got to see them. The Sport Bible, one of the biggest sporting pages on Facebook, shared an image created by the UK Football Trials team to their 7.2million followers. The post, recognising Charlie Austin's rise from non-league to Premier League star, received more than 35,000 likes and was shared over 400 times...